This morning I am once again reading out of Luke's Gospel, and also going back a few days to the book of Jonah, for when I was reading Jonah, I saw some parallels to these verses in Luke.
Luke 8:22-25 NIV
[22] One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. [23] As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. [24] The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. [25] “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
And from Jonah 1:3-6, 11-16 NIV
[3] "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish . He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
[4] Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. [5] All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. [6] The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
[11] The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” [12] “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” [13] Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. [14] Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” [15] Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. [16] At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him."
In the reading of the story of Jonah, I saw some things that reminded me of the previous story from Luke. One of my beliefs is that much of what we see in the New Testament, in way of miracles, we also saw in the Old Testament as well. In this case Jonah was on a ship, sleeping while the ship floundered in a storm. In the story from Luke Jesus was also sleeping during a storm, unaffected by that which raged about him.
Jonah was running from the will of God, Jesus was completely in the will of God, yet both saw storms raging about them. Jonah's disobedience lead to his situation, while for Jesus He was in perfect obedience. It is interesting how it would be be very difficult from an outside perspective to determine which was the cause. I think too often we are quick to judge people who find themselves caught in the middle of a storm, as having caused it by their disobedience, or bad decision.
In both cases the storm immediately subsided and the waters grew calm at the word of the Lord. In Jonah, the word of the Lord had come to Jonah and he knew what they needed to do (throw him overboard) but they didn't want to do that and tried to outrun the storm. It was finally evident they couldn't so they finally relented and through Jonah overboard and immediately the storm subsided, fulfilling the word that Jonah had received. In Jesus case He just stood up and spoke to the wind and waves and they immediately calmed.
As I write this am encouraged, for in both cases the Lord stopped the storm with a word, and that is really good news if you find yourself stuck in a storm, it is nice to know who can make it stop. In Jonah's case it was confession, in Jesus case it was obedience, but in both cases it was the Lord. So if you find yourself in a storm, have faith that the Lord can stop it and that He won't let it destroy you. He may seem like He is sleeping or not paying attention to your situation, but the Lord is fully aware and able to calm the storm in an instant. If you seek the word of the Lord in the midst of the storm, and heed it, you will be saved.
Amen!
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